By Ayomide Otitoju
President Bola Tinubu has formally written to the Senate requesting National Assembly confirmation to present the 2026 annual budget. According to a letter read by the Senate President during Thursday’s plenary, the President proposed to present the budget to a joint session on Friday at 2 p.m.
The proposed timing sparked concerns among some lawmakers, who noted it coincided with Muslim prayer time and urged that the schedule be reconsidered. The Senate President said consultations with the President would follow.
Last year, on December 18, 2024, Tinubu presented a ₦49.7 trillion budget proposal for 2025 before a joint session of the National Assembly. Key allocations included ₦4.91 trillion for defence and security, ₦4.06 trillion for infrastructure, ₦2.4 trillion for health, and ₦3.5 trillion for education — approximately ₦20 trillion higher than the 2024 budget.
In his first budget presentation in December 2023, Tinubu proposed a ₦27.5 trillion 2024 budget, which was later increased by the Senate to ₦28.7 trillion.
The 2025 budget pegged crude oil production at 2.06 million barrels per day and projected a reduction in the importation of finished petroleum products, while increasing exports of refined products.
During the 2024 presentation, Tinubu emphasized his commitment to economic renewal, saying the economy was responding to stimulus measures and pledging to continue reforms. “The reforms yielding results, no reversals,” he said. He also highlighted the challenges of corruption and insecurity, urging collaborative efforts to “rewrite the narrative of this nation” and stressing, “The time for lamentation is over. The time to act is now.”
